Talk:List of suburban and commuter rail systems

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Short list[edit]

Rather a short list! There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of such systems in the World.

1. We need a definition

How about

- heavy rail technology (rules out light rail) - no street running - serves the hinterland of a city or metropolitan area, rather than the built-up area itself - generally less frequent and with greater space between stations, but with a higher average speed, than metro systems

OK, having said that, I'd better make a start with the United Kingdom.

Cities and Metropolitan Areas with commuter rail systems

- large systems

London (NB - London's commuter network can be considered to cover all of South East England, an area of 10,000 square miles with a population of 20 million, and up to 100 miles from London)

Birmingham(West Midlands) Manchester(Greater Manchester) Leeds(West Yorkshire) Liverpool(Merseyside) Cardiff (South Wales Valleys) Edinburgh

- limited systems (one or two lines)

Belfast Bristol Nottingham Hull Newcastle Norwich Middlesbrough/Teesside Sheffield(South Yorkshire)

Most other UK cities and large towns have a certain amount of commuter traffic from surrounding rural areas and small towns - but this is generally not large enough to require dedicated train services and the service is provided by medium or long distance trains calling at the relevant stations, often at peak hours only. This can cause overcrowding but it is not considered worth providing better facilities for the small number of passengers concerned.

Exile 11:14, 11 January 2005 (UTC)[reply]

North America[edit]

Perhaps this portion should be merged with Commuter rail in North America, I see duplication here. --Peter Horn 20:03, 13 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Russia[edit]

Nearly all significant Russian cities have electric suburban railway.--Nixer 20:34, 26 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

German S-bahn and San Francisco BART[edit]

German S-Bahn must be included - that's suburban rail, and also San Francisco's BART(identical to German S-Bahn system) --218.48.10.197 11:30, 8 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

APTA Transit Def'n (for US)[edit]

APTA > Research & Statistics > Transit Statistics > Rail Statistics Rail Definitions Rail transit services exist in over 50 metropolitan areas and small cities, and the number grows almost yearly.

A mode is the system for carrying transit passengers described by specific right-of-way, technology and operational features. The most common rail modes are:

Commuter rail (also called metropolitan rail, regional rail, or suburban rail) is an electric or diesel propelled railway for urban passenger train service consisting of local short distance travel operating between a central city and adjacent suburbs. Service must be operated on a regular basis by or under contract with a transit operator for the purpose of transporting passengers within urbanized areas, or between urbanized areas and outlying areas. Such rail service, using either locomotive hauled or self propelled railroad passenger cars, is generally characterized by multi-trip tickets, specific station to station fares, railroad employment practices and usually only one or two stations in the central business district. Intercity rail service is excluded, except for that portion of such service that is operated by or under contract with a public transit agency for predominantly commuter services, which means that for any given trip segment (i.e., distance between any two stations), more than 50% of the average daily ridership travels on the train at least three times a week.

Heavy rail (metro, subway, rapid transit, or rapid rail) is an electric railway with the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic. It is characterized by high speed and rapid acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multi-car trains on fixed rails; separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded; sophisticated signaling, and high platform loading. If the service were converted to full automation with no onboard personnel, the service would be considered an automated guideway.

Light rail (streetcar, tramway, or trolley) is lightweight passenger rail cars operating singly (or in short, usually two-car, trains) on fixed rails in right-of-way that is not separated from other traffic for much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley or a pantograph.

Other modes are:

Aerial tramway is an electric system of aerial cables with suspended powerless passenger vehicles. The vehicles are propelled by separate cables attached to the vehicle suspension system and powered by engines or motors at a central location not on board the vehicle. Only two such transit operations exist in New York City and at Mountain Village, CO. All other aerial tramways are at ski areas or at tourist sites.

Automated guideway transit (personal rapid transit, group rapid transit, people mover) is an electric railway (single or multi-car trains) of guided transit vehicles operating without an onboard crew. Service may be on a fixed schedule or in response to a passenger activated call button. The places with automated guideways are Detroit, MI, Indianapolis, IN, Jacksonville, FL, Las Colinas, TX, Miami, FL, and Morgantown, WV. Automated guideways in non-transit settings such as airports and hospital campuses are more common.

Cable car is an electric railway with individually controlled transit vehicles attached to a moving cable located below the street surface and powered by engines or motors at a central location not on board the vehicle. Only one cable car operation exists in San Francisco, CA.


Inclined plane is a railway operating over exclusive right-of-way on steep grades (slopes) with powerless vehicles propelled by moving cables attached to the vehicles and powered by engines or motors at a central location not on board the vehicle. The special tramway type of vehicles have passenger seats that remain horizontal while the undercarriage (truck) is angled parallel to the slope. Chattanooga, TN, Dubuque, IA, Johnstown, PA, and Pittsburgh, PA (2 inclines) are the only places with inclines used in regular transit service.

Monorail is an electric railway of guided transit vehicles operating singly or in multi-car trains. The vehicles are suspended from or straddle a guideway formed by a single beam, rail, or tube. Only two transit monorails exist in Las Vegas, NV and Seattle, WA. Their most common use is in the non-transit settings of amusement parks. If the trains do not have an onboard crew, they are considered automated guideways.

Types of Service

Local service, in the rail context, means trains stop at every station on a route. For light rail and cable cars operating on city streets, local service would be analagous to local bus service, where stops are every block or two apart.

Most aerial tramway, automated guideway, inclined plane, and monorail routes are one mile or less long. New York City Transit also has a few very short heavy rail shuttle lines, and most heritage trolley lines are also only a few miles long. Some of these operations may operate in a loop and connect, often at a transfer center or rail station, to major routes for travel to more far-flung destinations

Express service speeds up longer trips, especially in major metropolitan areas during heavily-patronized peak commuting hours, by operating long distances without stopping. In New York, Chicago, and other areas, express trains even have separate tracks for at least part of their routes.

Limited-stop service is a hybrid between local and express service, where not all stations and stops are served. An example is a pair of closely-spaced trains that both stop at the most heavily-patronized stations on a line. For the other stations, the first train stops at every other station, while the following train stops at the stations missed by the first train.

Types of Vehicles

Although most service is operated with vehicles purchased new, a small proportion is operated by vehicles rehabilitated or rebuilt when they are 10 to 20 years old.

Rehabilitation is the rebuilding of revenue vehicles to original specifications of the manufacturer. Rebuilding may include some new components but has less emphasis on structural restoration than would be the case in a remanufacturing operation, focusing on mechanical systems and vehicle interiors.

An aerial tramway car is an unpowered passenger cabin suspended from a system of aerial cables and propelled by separate cables attached to the vehicle suspension system. Engines or motors at a central location, not on board the vehicle, power the cable system.

An automated guideway car is a guided passenger car operating under a fully automated system without an onboard crew. One type is a downtown people mover, which operates on a loop or shuttle route within the central business district of a city.

A cable car is a streetcar type of passenger car operating by means of an attachment to a moving cable located below the street surface and powered by engines or motors at a central location not on board the vehicle.

A commuter rail car is a commuter rail mode passenger car--either an unpowered passenger coach that is pulled or pushed by one or more locomotives, or a self-propelled passenger car that has an onboard power source or that draws power from overhead electric wires. A large proportion of commuter rail cars are double-decked with upper and lower seating levels.

A locomotive is a power unit vehicle that does not carry passengers that is used to pull or push commuter rail passenger coaches. Most locomotives use diesel fuel or are powered by overhead electric wires or an electrified third rail. A small number are dual-mode and can operate either as a diesel or electric vehicle.

A heavy rail car has motive capability, is driven by electric power taken from a third rail or (rarely, overhead wires), and is usually operated on exclusive right-of-way.

An inclined plane car is a special type of passenger car operating up and down slopes on rails via a cable mechanism.

A light rail car (or streetcar, tram, or trolley car) has motive capability, is usually driven by electric power taken from overhead lines, and usually operates much or all of its route on non-exclusive right-of-way. Sometimes older cars are refurbished (vintage trolley cars) or newer cars are built to look like older cars (heritage trolley cars).

A monorail car is a guided passenger car operating on or suspended from a single rail, beam or tube.

Accessibility

A station is a public transportation passenger facility.

An accessible station is a station that provides ready access, and does not have physical barriers that prohibit and/or restrict access by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs.

An accessible vehicle is a public transportation revenue vehicle that does not restrict access, is usable, and provides allocated space and/or priority seating for individuals who use wheelchairs.

Historically-protected vehicles, such as the San Francisco cable cars, have been exempted from accessibility regulations.

Rail cars accommodate wheelchair-bound and other riders who cannot climb steps in several different manners:

Street-level boarding is used primarily by light rail and cable car lines that stop on the street rather than at stations. Either a low-floor car with a retractable ramp or a high-floor car with a retractable lift would be required.

Low-level platforms are generally about 12-18 inches above track level and are used primarily by some commuter rail and light rail lines. Either a low-floor car with a retractable ramp or a high-floor car with a retractable lift can be used. Alternatively, the platform can be level with the car floor or the platform may have a lift, ramp, or elevated mini-platform.

High-level platforms are generally 18-36 inches above track level and are used primarily by heavy rail, automated guideway, and some commuter rail lines. Only high-floor cars can be used. Platforms can be level with car floors, the cars could have a lift or a ramp, or the platform could have a lift, ramp, or mini-platform.

Some commuter rail and light rail lines use a mixture of high-level and low-level platforms on the same line. Typically, all platforms were originally low-level, but the most heavily-used stations have been upgraded to high-level to speed loading and unloading. In such cases, the cars must have two accessibility options--one for high-level platforms and one for low-level platforms.

Other rail modes may use any of the accessibility arrangements

Fixed Guideways

All rail services are classified as fixed guideways.

A Fixed Guideway is a mass transit facility using and occupying a separate right-of-way or rail for the exclusive use of mass transportation and other high-occupancy vehicles; or using a fixed catenary system usable by other forms of transportation.

Fixed guideways are generally on the surface, but about half of heavy rail mileage and short distances of other types of rail are in tunnel or elevated.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Rhallanger (talk • contribs) 03:14, 24 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Table merger?[edit]

I see very similar tables here and on Commuter rail in North America. Wouldn't it make sense to transclude the same table into both articles? -- Beland 02:55, 22 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There are definitely a number of parallel and duplicate Wikipedia articles on this subject. I have just added links to three more:
List of rapid transit systems, S-Bahn, RER.
The problem is terminology, "suburban and commuter rail systems" is the British English term, "rapid transit systems" the US term, "S-Bahn" is used German-speaking countries, RER in French speaking countries. The definitions are subtly different, but mostly overlapping. Geneva has an “RER” (French-speaking), but Zürich has an “S-Bahn” (German-speaking), both in Switzerland.

Suggestion: Definitely merge all these tables, but keep the different articles, all pointing to the same common table.
- TiffaF 06:40, 15 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Russian Asian cities[edit]

May be we should separate Russian cities situated in Asia from those situated in Europe?--Nixer 03:01, 1 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Florida Miami-Dade Metrorail[edit]

Why is Miami-Dade Metrorail listed here, they are not a suburban and commuter rail system, they are a Rapid Transit system! ~ Moebiusuibeom-en (talk) 01:19, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You are right. It is listed in List of rapid transit systems and should not be listed here. I will remove it. --Kildor (talk) 11:56, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

New Discussion[edit]

A discussion has been started at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries/Lists of countries which could affect the inclusion criteria and title of this and other lists of countries. Editors are invited to participate. Pfainuk talk 13:43, 17 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Tables[edit]

The tables seem to be a real mess, they need tidying up to the standard of List of Metro Systems -- Eraserhead1 <talk> 12:55, 10 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Netherlands[edit]

In the Netherlands, there are many trains driving around cities, excluding metro and lightrail systems. The problem is that this is more a national system, also driving in rural areas (altough very urbanized in comparison to some if the listed commuter rail systems).

A part of the German Euregiobahn from Aachen drives partly in the Netherlands and is the only train serving Eygelshoven Markt. Does that count as a commuter rail in the Netherlands, or does it only count for the German side? OPolkruikenz March 10, 2012, 18:33 (UTC)

Russian and Ukrainian commuter systems?[edit]

I hid (they are still there, just as a HTML comment) some entries of Russian and Ukrainian cities, since there's no evidence that they actually have a organized commuter rail system. Of course many cities are served by regional rail, but this alone does not qualify as a commuter or suburban rail system. If anyone has more information, please contribute. --Ita140188 (talk) 12:43, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Looking at the "hidden" entries... As far as some places, such as Klin, Serpukhov or Noginsk, go, good riddance - they are simply two (out of several dozens) cities and towns served by commuter trains out of Moscow. On the other hand, most others cities that were listed actually are regional centers, and the hubs of local commuter trains networks. Typically, in each regions such trains are operated by a distinct entity, which is now usually called "[Region name] Suburban Passenger Company" (пригородная пассажирская компания); in the past, they were, I think, "Directorates of Suburban Passenger Transportation" (Дирекция пригородных пассажирских перевозок). Historically, they were, ultimately, divisions of the Russian Railways; now, they seem to be organized as corporations that are (typically) partially owned by the RR. According to the ru.wiki article, ru:Пригородные перевозки в Российской Федерации (Commuter [rail] transportation in Russian Federation), as of a year ago there were 25 such operators in Russia, with plans to eventually have 32 of them. While the service in many regions has been much reduced over the last 20 years, most of these 25 operators do run dozens of trains a day into and out of their respective regional centers. (E.g., here's the current schedule for Kaliningrad (in Russian)). Logically, we probably should list all 25 of them here, along with the URLs given in the ru.wiki article, and maybe get some stats out of those sites as well. Hopefully, these are useful starting points for anyone interested. -- Vmenkov (talk) 17:04, 4 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Unfortunately I can not speak russian and I'm not very much informed about such systems in Russia. You seem more competent, maybe you can organize this information if you have time! Thank you! --Ita140188 (talk) 15:24, 13 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]
This "Map of fixed-route public transport systems (suburban railways, Rapid Transit and Light Rail Transit systems, tram, trolleybus) in the states of the former Soviet Union" hosted at Wikimedia Commons might be a useful starting point. It not only covers Russia and Ukraine, but other countries of the former Soviet Union, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, all of appear to have systems that don't appear on the current list. Perhaps the author can give us some ideas for sources. I'd like to work on this myself but given that I don't read Russian I think I'm not the best to take the lead. Serenerandomness (talk) 00:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Merging Systems with same name[edit]

For systems that have different operators on system of same name, (ex. Greater Tokyo,etc), how about merging the lines so that the operators are listed in one system name? Readability should be enhanced by doing this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mscho527 (talk • contribs) 06:19, 12 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Metro system[edit]

Should a system included here if it contains metro lines and also suburban lines? Like the MTR, where it contains lines that are fully metro (Island Line, Kwun Tong Line, Tseung Kwan O Line and Tsuen Wan Line), and also suburban lines (East Rail Line, which is built according to main line standard, shares track with inter-city rail and freight service, and runs fully on the ground). Miklcct (talk) 10:20, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

We can take here as an example Barcelona, more specifically the FGC, which at the lines of Barcelona-Vallès and Llobregat-Anoia has the L6, L7 and L8 which counts as metro, and the S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, R5, R50, R6 and R60 counting as Suburban Lines because of they exceed the limits of the 1st zone at the metropolitan area of Barcelona, so you can put them but without mentioning the metro lines ALZH08 (talk) 23:02, 28 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Istanbul/Turkey[edit]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%B0stanbul-Halkal%C4%B1_Line

Why is Istanbul not listed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.248.1.31 (talk) 17:49, 10 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Mendoza/Argentina[edit]

Why is it even here, if it's a light rail system? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.58.232.214 (talk) 07:28, 23 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Glasgow[edit]

It sounds doubtful that a city of the size of Glasgow has a suburban rail system of 341 stations and 3,032 km (1,884 mi) system length. According to Abellio ScotRail stations like Thurso and Inverness seem to be included, but they are hardly suburbs of Glasgow. Inverness is 169 miles from Glasgow and Thurso further away.--BIL (talk) 09:35, 3 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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Australian systems[edit]

If NSW TrainLink Intercity is on the list, shouldn’t V/Line Commuter (which excludes the regional booked services) also be on the list? Fork99 (talk) 13:51, 28 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

V/Line contains this sentence "Rail services are grouped into two types. As part of the introduction of the Myki smartcard in 2013, and to provide consistent communication to both staff and customers, what were formerly called "interurban" services became "commuter" services, and what were formerly called "intercity" services became "long distance" services. Commuter services operate over shorter distances and more frequently than long Distance services, and the latter usually provide some first-class accommodation, as well as snack bar facilities" but beyond that it does not have a clear list of what is what unlike NSW TrainLink which has a list of the two types of operation. So I am not sure how you would add the relevant V/Line services as you dont want long descriptions.Fleet Lists (talk) 01:30, 29 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Isn’t it just as simple as just the services between Geelong, Ballarat, Traralgon, Bendigo, Seymour and Melbourne? Those are all connected to the Myki ticketing system, don’t have first class and don’t have buffet cafe services. Yeah I agree V/Line is a bit confusing (especially their own website), but it’s actually very similar to how NSW TrainLink works with shorter intercity/commuter services and longer regional reserved services with first class and cafe services. Fork99 (talk) 01:54, 29 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with what you say. I suggest you expand the V/Line article to include the services you mention here as Commuter services. That would probably be a good thing overall and then including a link from here would be great.Fleet Lists (talk) 02:07, 29 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Calgary[edit]

You are missing the c-train light rapid transit ran by Calgary Transit in Calgary Alberta Canada. It transports over 300,000 people per week. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:B100:911:51E5:5199:DBAD:AD2E:D64A (talk) 20:53, 24 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

That is light rail and appears on the List of tram and light rail transit systems. oknazevad (talk) 21:47, 24 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Barcelona, Spain[edit]

The Barcelona’s FGC lines of Barcelona-Vallès and Llobregat—Anoia also counts as suburban lines, which ones doesn’t appears in the list. Another notable point is that the Rodalies de Catalunya is divided in 4 (Rodalies de Barcelona/Tarragona/Lleida/Girona), according to the province in which they operate, and at the list only is the Barcelonese Rodalies, and there are also regional lines, which ones doesn’t operates for any of the 4 mentioned before. ALZH08 (talk) 00:11, 25 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

lithuania[edit]

innacurate information, doesn't use this system 78.157.86.35 (talk) 05:25, 11 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

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